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Ontario secondary teachers vow protest over unsigned contracts

OSSTF president Paul Elliott says many boards still haven’t signed off on the province’s deal with high school teachers, including Peel, Durham and Toronto.

Thousands of teachers staged rallies against the Ontario government's wage freeze bill, including at this Queen's Park protest in August 2012. Some may be staging similar protests if their boards fail to append the memorandum of understanding reached with the province in April to their contracts. (CARLOS OSORIO / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO)

OSSTF president Paul Elliott speaks to media after addressing the annual meeting of high school teachers. Elliott is vowing to take action against school boards that are refusing to sign off on a contract hammered out with the provincial government in April. (Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star)

Months after inking a deal that ended long-standing labour strife with the provincial government, Ontario’s high school teachers are threatening to stage a new round of protests in September.

Paul Elliott, incoming president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, said Thursday that local leaders will meet Sept. 4 to discuss taking action against school boards that have not signed off on a contract hammered out with the province in April.

“After four months, our members have been left with unsettled contracts, no security and nothing but questions,” he said in his first state of the union address at a leadership conference in Toronto. “That is unacceptable.”

But the school boards association says the union’s call is premature, given that the Ministry of Education only released a funding breakdown this week and it did not fully address boards’ concerns about paid sick days.

Elliott said potential action could include protests, rallies and letters. The union is legally blocked from striking due to contracts imposed under Bill 115 and is not considering withdrawing extracurriculars again.

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Of the roughly 40 school boards in the province bargaining with the OSSTF, only eight have implemented the memorandum of understanding the union negotiated with Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government.

“It’s way too early to think we’re on the verge of another labour crisis,” he said. “I think, if anything over the last 14 or 15 months, we’ve recognized that speculation and escalation in the public forum is not really the best process for negotiations.”

School boards were left out of negotiations between the province and union. They have long held major concerns about the memorandum, especially the 11 paid sick days teachers are set to receive, Barrett said.

“That is the biggest concern that is still not nailed down. The ministry is taking a ‘let’s wait and see’ approach,” he said.

Because teachers can no longer bank sick days, school boards fear teachers will take all 11 paid days off, which the boards cannot afford, he explained.

Barrett, a trustee with the Durham board, said other funding concerns were addressed in the ministry’s recent letter and the numbers “look pretty good.”

Lisa Black-Meddings, chief negotiator for the Toronto secondary teachers’ bargaining unit, said the TDSB is stalling on some parts of the memorandum, including extending maternity leave to eight weeks from six.

“The Toronto District School Board is enormous, and sometimes things do take a long time to roll out, but some of these delays are incredible,” she said. “It’s very challenging to understand why the board is taking so long.”

TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird declined to comment on negotiations, but said the board would discuss the recent ministry letter at its next meeting, either Aug. 23 or Sept. 11.

In his speech, Elliott also urged Education Minister Liz Sandals to “bring the hammer down” on boards that don’t signal their intention to append the memorandum by Aug. 29.

The ministry could send in a supervisor to ensure the boards sign off, he said.

Sandals said Thursday the province is providing up to $160 million in funding to boards, and she fully expects them to meet the deadline.

“We know that all of our partners in the education sector have an interest in starting the school year on a positive note,” she said in a statement.

School boards that have appended the memorandums include York, Halton, Hamilton, Upper Canada, Renfrew and Rainy River. The number is likely to rise by September, Elliott acknowledged.

“We might be looking at a few rogue boards out there who are thumbing their noses at us and thumbing their noses at the minister,” he said.

He assured parents that the school year will start as normal and the “vast majority” of teachers are looking forward to resuming after-school sports and clubs.

But as September approaches, Elliott said the standoff with the boards would be weighing on all their minds.

“The longer this drags on, this will have a direct impact on morale,” he said. “It’s a cloud that hangs over everybody right now.”

With files from Kristin Rushowy

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